"I feel like my arm strength is there," Hamels said. "But you tend to forget about having your mechanics sound before you release the ball. That's where I find a little trouble, even sometimes during the season. It's mechanical, not really pitch selection or how my pitches are working. Everything starts there."
"I'm aware of it. You just kind of have to beat it in my head."
The most encouraging fact, Hamels said, was the feeling that his fourth and final inning Tuesday was the best. He induced two pop flies on the infield and a grounder to short.
"I was tired," Hamels said. "That helps out. You try to make one good pitch at a time. That's what I was able to do. My pitches were a lot better in that fourth inning."
Brown's surgery
Domonic Brown underwent surgery Tuesday in Philadelphia to remove the broken hamate bone in his right hand, Phillies head athletic trainer Scott Sheridan said. The team believes Brown could be hitting again in two weeks after the stitches are removed, but the timetable for returning to the field is four to six weeks.
Sheridan said the surgery has "no long-term concerns."
The problem "can't come back because it's no longer there," Sheridan said of the hamate bone.
Brown will wear a removable splint for three to four weeks and will return to Clearwater on Wednesday to resume an exercise program that does not include hitting.
Charlie Manuel said he expected Brown to play in the minors upon his return to action.
Extra bases
Rightfielder Ben Francisco was scratched from the lineup with a stiff neck. He said he slept on it weirdly and didn't expect it to be an issue. Manuel said Francisco would not make the road trip to Lakeland, Fla., on Wednesday. Delwyn Young started in his place Tuesday. . . . Danys Baez struck out two and induced a pop fly in a scoreless seventh. "That's what we're looking for," pitching coach Rich Dubee said. "As good as he's been right there." . . . Carlos Rivero delivered the game-winning two-run single in the bottom of the ninth to even the Phillies' Grapefruit League record at 6-6.
Contact staff writer Matt Gelb
at mgelb@phillynews.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/magelb.
